World News - CIA warned its operatives to stay out of Italy, according to e-mail

The CIA warned its operatives to stay out of Italy after learning that Italian prosecutors were preparing to seek arrest warrants in the agency's 2003 kidnapping of a radical Muslim preacher, according to an e-mail message recovered from the computer drive of the chief suspect in the case.One CIA employee who received the e-mail later wrote to the agency's retired chief in Milan, Robert Seldon Lady, that she was "extremely relieved" to learn that Lady had managed to cross the border into Switzerland and was "in Geneva until this blew over" rather than "sitting in some Italian holding cell."The employee, who is now living in Virginia, wrote that she had been taken aback when she "suddenly got an e-mail through work which was entitled, `Italy, don't go there.'" Reached by telephone, the employee said she was not at liberty to discuss her e-mail to Lady, which was dated Dec. 24, 2004.... http://www.mercurynews.com

The release of thousands of flawed Wisconsin state quarters that set off a buying frenzy, and speculations of foul play, was a mistake stemming from an ill-timed meal break, a government investigation has found. As many as 50,000 of the faulty coins, 50 times the amount earlier thought, entered circulation in 2004 after the coins were produced and bagged during an operator's break, according to the Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General. The flawed Wisconsin coins, which have sold for thousands of dollars, appear to have an extra leaf on the left side of an ear of corn.The Wisconsin quarters went into circulation in 2004 as part of the 10-year state quarter program run by the Mint, an agency in the Treasury Department. The quarters "were most likely produced as a result of machine or product deficiencies, not as a result of an intentional act," according to the report, obtained by USA TODAY through a Freedom of Information Act request. ...http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-01-20-quarter-goof-usat_x.htm?csp=34

Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN’s nuclear monitor, has turned down a request by the European Union to issue a far-reaching condemnation of Iran’s nuc­lear programme when the agency’s board meets in extraordinary session next month. Mr ElBaradei’s reports set the tone for the international debate on the issue, so his decision could weaken US-European efforts for a speedy referral of Iran to the UN Security Council.The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been frustrated by Iran’s resumption of nuclear research – the move that set off US and European attempts to send the issue to the Security Council – as well as by a slowdown in Iranian co-operation with his inspectors. He has informed Tehran it has until the end of next month to give his inspectors improved access to documents and sites....http://news.ft.com/cms/s/ca550f44-891d-11da-94a6-0000779e2340.html

US Justice Dept, facing lawsuits & congressional hearings on Bush's domestic eavesdropping program, sought on Thur to persuade congressional leaders the surveillance was lawful & did not violate civil liberties. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who plans to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Feb 6, sent a report to Capitol Hill outlining the legal basis for the National Security Agency's activities that Bush approved after the Sept 11 attacks. The highly classified program allows the monitoring of international communications, like telephone & e-mail messages, into & out of the US of persons linked to al Qaeda or related terrorist groups, without a warrant. Disclosure last month of the program sparked an outcry by Democrats & Republicans, with many lawmakers questioning whether it violated the US Constitution. Both Democrats and Republicans have been trashing the Constitution for years and now they want to sound like they care? We all don’t have short memories...http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060120/pl_nm/security_eavesdropping_dc

A dog apparently fell from a freeway overpass and crashed through a car windshield, fatally injuring the driver, police said Thursday.Charles G. Jetchick, 81, died Wednesday of injuries suffered in the accident over the weekend in suburban Detroit. A passenger suffered minor injuries.Investigators do not believe the 60- to 70-pound Labrador retriever was thrown, but rather fell by while trying to avoid a car, State Police Sgt. Michael A. Shaw said. Police questioned the dog’s owner. The dog died after a fall of about 16 feet. ...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10929060/from/RSS/

In a move to trim costs and calories, Colorado prison officials were going to quit serving inmates ground beef in some dishes and replace it with ground turkey. But in a cowboy state, home of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, they might as well have waved a red flag at an angry bull here this week at the 100th National Western Stock Show, the world's largest cattle exhibit and pride of the USA's $98.3 billion cattle industry. Faster than you can say "Buffalo Bill" — who is buried in the foothills west of here — Colorado beef industry groups and a state legislator from cattle country cried fowl. After they met last week with the head of the Colorado Department of Corrections, ground turkey was put on hold while the state tests whether the plan to replace ground beef actually is cheaper and healthier. "They prepare those meals so cheap, I don't know that turkey and beef are that far apart in terms of price," says state Sen. ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-19-colorado-beef-turkey_x.htm?csp=34